


Watson's Universal Robots

by Robottko



Series: One-Shots and Ficlets and Prompts, Oh My! [9]
Category: R.U.R., Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Human!John, John is the only human left in the world, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, Pre-Slash, Robot!Sherlock, Robots, Talk of sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-26
Updated: 2014-03-26
Packaged: 2018-01-17 01:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1369549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robottko/pseuds/Robottko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the only human left in the world, John is tasked with the impossible job of making more robots. However, when he meets Sherlock, a robot with emotions, his job gets a whole lot easier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watson's Universal Robots

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Trista_zevkia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trista_zevkia/gifts).



John groaned in frustration as the door to his lab opened, knowing exactly who it was before they spoke.

"Have you finished yet?" The smooth voice of Mycroft Holmes asked, and John rolled his eyes, looking up at the robot.

“Have I…no! Of course not! I’m not a scientist, as I’ve told you many times before. I don’t know _how_ they got robots sentient in the first place.” He gritted out, annoyed when Mycroft’s face betrayed no emotion. Just like every other robot.

“You are the last human alive.” Mycroft answered smoothly, as if that explained anything. “We have been unsuccessful in creating more robots. You must do it.”

“I can’t!” John burst out. “I can’t! Don’t you see that?”

“If you cannot do it, then we will die out.” Mycroft replied. “There will be no one left.”

“Maybe you should have thought about that _before_ you killed all the humans!” John cried. “At least humans could have children!”

Mycroft sighed lightly. “You will make more robots. We are more intelligent than humans. We will make the world a better place. A more peaceful place.”

“You’re sterile.” John glared at the robot. “Are you just going to keep recreating more robots? A never ending cycle?”

“Yes.” Mycroft said, and he turned on his heel, heading for the exit. “Do hurry, Dr Watson. You aren’t getting any younger.”

John picked up the book with Dr Rossum’s notes in it, flinging it across the room. Not that the robot noticed, of course. Nor would he have cared. Robots don’t have feelings.

John sighed as the book clattered to the floor, and he quickly ran to get it. The original notes on how to make a robot, but it was missing one very important thing: how to make them sentient. That secret would be lost with Dr Rossum, and John doubted that he would ever discover a way to recreate his design.

Setting the book back on the lab table, he flopped down in his chair once more, his head resting against the cool metal. He was absolutely exhausted, and Mycroft had forbidden that he leave the room. Not that it was safe for him out there. The robots had killed everyone, what was one more human? The last human.

With that last, bleak thought, John drifted off, visions of failing robots dancing through his mind.

 

* * *

 

 

Sherlock was merely curious about the human doctor. Mycroft had kept him hidden away from the public, deeming him too dangerous for any robot to get near. But, peeking into the lab where the human was held, Sherlock didn’t find him scary at all. In fact, he looked fairly ordinary. A cable knit jumper hung from his thinning frame, and dark circles under his eyes showed his exhaustion. Ordinary, yet completely intriguing.

Sherlock snuck into the room, walking over to the desk where the human had chosen to spend his off-cycle-no, sleeping. Human’s called it sleeping. Pleased with his use of proper terminology, he closed in, examining the human. So engrossed was he with his observations, he didn’t notice that the human’s breathing changed.

“Who are you?” The voice asked, and Sherlock looked up, jumping slightly when he saw the human’s eyes open.

“You’re awake.” Sherlock took a few steps back, frustrated that he was showing his nervousness.

“You’re…you have emotion.” The human’s eyes lit up unlike any robot Sherlock had ever seen. It was fascinating. “You’re a human too, like me!”

“I-”

“We have to get out of here.” The human said, jumping up from his chair. “The robot…Mycroft…he’ll be back soon. Who knows what he’ll do to you.”

“But, I’m-”

“Come along.” The human took his hand, and Sherlock could feel the heat. “No time to hang around. Mycroft likes to check up on me.”

“I’m not a human.” Sherlock blurts out, watching the human freeze, turning to look at him in shock.

“You’re…not?” The hand vanishes, and Sherlock finds himself missing it. “But…you have emotions.”

“Mycroft calls it an error.” Sherlock admitted, looking away in embarrassment. This human must find him faulty.

“Emotions are never an error.” The human says, and Sherlock looks back at him in confusion.

“Every other robot doesn’t have emotions.” Sherlock tells him. “I am the only one who has experienced them. Therefore, I am broken.”

“Broken?” The human’s brow furrows, and Sherlock reaches out to touch the skin. It’s both soft and rough, a most delightful combination. “You’re not broken, though.”

“Malfunctioning, then.” Sherlock huffed.

“Wait…no one programmed you to feel anything?” The human asked softly, and Sherlock was under the impression that his answer was very important to the human.

“No.” Sherlock said honestly. “At first I was like everyone else. They…developed over time.”

“I don’t have to make more robots.” The human breathed, looking excited.

Sherlock frowned at him, obviously confused. What did his malfunction have to do with the human building robots?

“Don’t you see?” The human was overjoyed, and Sherlock stared at the smile on the humans face, wondering if it would taste as good as it looked. “You can develop feelings! If you can develop feelings, then you can procreate, and with some minor tweaking, you can have offspring!”

“Children?” Sherlock asked, his eyebrows rising. “You think you can make it so robots have children?”

“I think so.” The human hummed, cupping Sherlock’s face in his hands, staring into his eyes. “If we can trigger emotions in the other robots, you won’t be so alone.”

“I am not alone.” Sherlock answered honestly. “Not now.”

The human’s eyes widened, and his cheeks went pink as his arms dropped limp to his sides. Sherlock decided he liked the colour on the man very much.

“Ah…yes.” The human hummed slightly. “I suppose introductions are necessary. I’m John Watson.”

“John Watson.” Sherlock tasted the name. “I am Sherlock.”

“Sherlock.” John repeated. “Now, we’re going to have to figure out how you got your emotions. If we can replicate it, we’ll find you a nice robot girl to marry.”

“Robot girl?” Sherlock frowned. “Why would I desire a robot girl?”

“For children?” John replied, confusion on his face.

“Can’t I just have them with you?” Sherlock asked.

“I’m afraid that I don’t come equipped with the necessary parts.” John said, his face turning a brighter red than before. “And you wouldn’t want me anyway if I did.”

“Why not?” Sherlock asked. “While robots don’t normally concern themselves with appearances, it’s obvious that you are aesthetically pleasing. You are a hard worker, and you are skilled in things that you do, even if they weren’t in your field of study, such as robot making. You were a soldier, judging by your haircut and the way you hold yourself. You were a doctor, judging by your hands, and the way you observed my face.”

John’s face performed a complicated series of emotions, flickering across those eyes faster than Sherlock could track, until they settled on awe.

“You saw all that?” He asked. “You’re brilliant!”

Sherlock paused, looking at John in confusion. “I am?”

“Of course you are.” John beamed. “What do you think you are?”

“Malfunctioning.” Sherlock replied, looking away.

“Hey, none of that.” John said, and he clapped a hand on Sherlock’s arm. “Tell you what, since you don’t seem interested in females, how about a find a nice male robot for you? If bringing him feelings works, then I’ll try it out on other robots?”

“That would be…acceptable.” Sherlock agreed, selfishly hoping John would fail. “Though I’m not sure why you would do this for me.”

“That’s what friends do, yeah?” John grinned, turning back to his lab table. “Hook the other one up? Though this is slightly different than what I’m used to…”

Sherlock hummed in response, wondering how long it would be before he mastered the human’s lingo. _Hopefully not long,_ he thought. _Perhaps then he’ll see me as a possible contender for a mate himself._

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt from [Zevkia](http://zevkia.tumblr.com/)  
> on tumblr that read: "I missed your fic a thon, as I was with the parents for the weekend. If I could but make a tiny suggestion, how about robot!Sherlock?"
> 
> This story is based on R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) Which was a Czech play written by Karel Ĉapek that not only introduced the word 'robot' into the English language, but science fiction as a whole. Original robots for the win!


End file.
